Oil-can



A. W. PLUMB.

OIL CAN.

8 No. 256,854. Patented Ap r.25,188Z.

=1. Washington. D. c.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR V. PLUMB, OF CHICAGO, lLLlNOIS.

OIL-CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 256,854, dated April 25, 1882,

Application filed July 14, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. PLUMB, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil-Cans; and I hereby declare the fol owing to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a can provided with my improvements; Fig. 2,

a side elevation of the same, and Figs. 3 and 4 detail views.

My invention relates to the class of devices which are employed for regulating the flow of oil from oil-cans with a View to prevent waste.

It is a well-known fact that'with the larger varieties of oil-cans the simple stopping of the airvent is inadequate to stop the flow of the oil, especially where the latter is of the heavy quality commonly used upon locomotive-engines and other heavy machinery. Accordingly, as engineers ordinarily work hastily and pay little, if any, attention to saving the oil, great quantities are always spilled upon the ground during every operation of oiling, producing an enormous loss every day. Numerous devices have heretofore been contrived for the purpose of avoiding this loss, but all have proved more or less defective.

The object of my invention is to overcome all the defects of previous devices for the same purpose by combining the features of a vent and a valve, so constructed that they shall be operated concurrently and shall not be liable to clog or get out of repair.

The nature of my improvements will be clearly understood from the following description.

In the drawings, A is the can, provided with the spout '0, at the end of which is a cage or guard, B, formed of two wires, a, bent to the form of staples crossing each other at right angles and soldered to the end of the spout. Near'the handle t of the can, and on the same side therewith, is a tube,s, passing through an opening in said can and firmly secured thereto, and extending upward and backward at an angle, so as to bring it within convenient reach of the operator.

Passing through the spout a, and also through the tube 8, nearly to its outer end, is a rod, 4', terminating at the end of the spout in a conical valve, q, and at the outer end of the tube 8 is a solid cylinder, 19, adapted to fit the tube closely, and having a knob, 0, for the thumb to bear upon, and a longitudinal groove, n, in its side for the admission of air to the interior of the tube. The tube toward its lower end is filled in, as shown at l, leaving, however, a passage, is, through the center, somewhat larger in diameter than the rod T, which passes through it, whereby air is admitted to the interior of the can. The inner end of the tube 8 is beveled off, as shown at z, and against the month of the passage a washer-valve, h, of leather or india-rubber, bears firmly, being rigidly fastened to the rod 0' at that point by means of the shoulder g thereon. A helical spring, f, surrounds the rod in the interior of the tube, and is confined between the cylinder 1) and the shoulder formed by the filling 1.

When, it is desired to produce a flow of oil from the end of the spout, pressure is exerted on the knob 0 by means of the thumb of the operator. This drives the rod forward, compressing thespring f(an operation which is rendered sufficiently easy by the position of the knob and the backward incline ofthe tube) and opening both valves, whereby the oil flows out freely. Upon releasingthe knob the spring relaxes, driving the rod back to its original position.

The guard at the end of the spout, while preventing the valve g from being impeded in its action by bearing against the machinery, at the same time alfords free egress to the oil and free access to the valve for the purpose of cleaning it in the eventofits becoming clogged.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an oil-can, A, having a spout, v, and venttube 8, as shown, a rod, 0, passing through said spout and vent-tube, and provided with two valves, one having for its seat the end of the spout and the other the inner end of the vent-tube, and provided also with a knob, 0, at the outer end of the vent-tube, in combination with a spring,f, acting in opposition to pressure exerted on the knob, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the can A, having the spout 11 and handle t, vent tube 3, passing rod in the interior of the tube and confined bethrough said can on the same side as the hantween said cylinder-p anda sl1oulder,g,nearthe 1o dle and extending upward and backward, rod lower end of said tube, substantially as der, passing through said spout and Vent-tube scribed.

5 s, and provided with the valve qat the end of ARTHUR PLUMB.

the spout, valve h at the inner end of the want- In presence of tube, and cylinder 12, having the knob 0 and VVM. H. DYRENFORTH,

groove n, and the spring" f, surrounding said ADELBERT HAMILTON.

I A V A 

